


More Than We Seem

by ANGSWIN



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 13:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17623592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ANGSWIN/pseuds/ANGSWIN
Summary: Two unusual people accidentally meet in a forest and an unlikely connection is formed between them.Written for the 2018 X-Ship Crossover Relationship Exchange





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChronicBookworm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChronicBookworm/gifts).



> [](https://postimages.org/)   
> 

The Hulk smashed his way through the forest and, after a massive leap, landed with enough force to shake the surrounding area like a miniature earthquake.  He let out a roar of frustration and his huge arms reached towards the sky as his fists clenched with the anger that flowed through him.

“Oooh, that’s perfect!  Hold that pose right there, please,” cried a soft, but delighted, voice nearby.  The Hulk froze, but his head whipped around and his dark green eyes narrowed in suspicion when he saw a puny human female sitting up against a tree with a sketch pad in her lap.  “I came out here to draw the Hooked-winged Doxie Limpets that are native to this forest for a magizoology book that my friend Rolf and I are writing,” she continued to explain dreamily as if unaware of the danger he posed while she also absentmindedly used her pencil-like art quill to brush a strand of long blonde hair out of her eyes.  Then the woman smiled brightly up at him before she looked back down to her pad as her pencil practically flew over the page while she sketched earnestly.   “They are not very interesting, though. They don’t even fly. All they do is hop around a little,” she continued in a casual tone.  “You, however, make a much more fascinating subject.”

The Hulk paused.  She thought _he_ was fascinating?  And did she just _smile_ at him?  It must be a trick…or diversion…something designed to catch him off guard so that he…or that puny doctor inside of him…could be captured…or worse.  That thought brought him back to himself and he growled, a low warning sound, before he started to take a step towards her.

“No!” she said simply – without any fear in her voice whatsoever.  “Please don’t move.  I want to catch those lovely muscular ripples down your arms in just the right light.”  Despite himself, the Hulk found that he had again stopped moving in surprise at the apparent meaning of her words.    

"Hulk look…good?” he asked incredulously.

“Oh yes!” she replied enthusiastically as she paused sketching just long enough to push that wayward strand of hair out of her face again. She then laid the pad down on the ground in front of her and smoothly moved from a sitting position to one where she lounged on her stomach while her feet kicked cheerfully in the air above her. “Ah…that’s better,” she sighed in happy comfort.  Her pencil soon raced across the paper again, though, even as she continued to speak.  “At any rate, your form is quite impressive, you know.  Your lines are mesmerizing…and green has always been my one of my favorite colors– even though the pesky Nargles are quite attracted to it, as well.”

This time, despite the perpetual anger that simmered under his surface, the Hulk could feel the corner of his mouth turn up in a smirk of satisfaction at her complimentary, albeit a bit confusing, description of him…and he made a point to stay where he was until she was finished with her drawing.

“Come and see,” she offered afterwards.  She rolled back into a sitting position again and patted the grass on the ground next to her in an invitation for him to join her.  The Hulk paused, confused again by the woman’s seemingly utter lack of concern about her safety around him. Nobody ever _wanted_ to be around the Hulk – not even Banner’s puny friends.  They wanted him to come out and fight when they needed him, but then they always wanted him to leave as soon as possible after he was finished smashing.  Just the thought of how they treated him as some sort of necessary inconvenience made him want to smash some more!  In fact, that was why he was out here now.  He had managed to escape them for the time being.  However, he had no doubt that the annoying talkative man in the flying suit would find him soon.  Even though the doctor seemed to like that one, the Hulk often found that he would not mind smashing him a little - just to make him be quiet for a while.

However, the woman smiled up at him again and the Hulk forgot all about Banner, Stark, and the others.  Instead, he gave in to the unusual pull he felt towards her as he plopped his big green body down on the ground on the spot she had indicated – and dwarfed the delicate little blonde next to him in the process.  However, she did not seem to care and she did not try to move further away, either.  In fact, she just smiled even more as she leaned closer against his arm in order to better hold the sketch pad up high enough so that he could see the final product. 

Even though he knew that she had been drawing him, he still looked down at the picture with surprise.  “Hulk!” he exclaimed with uncharacteristic delight as he saw her flattering depiction of him: tall, strong, and muscular with a slight smirk on his lips and surprisingly intelligent eyes.  The Hulk might have severe anger issues and a limited vocabulary after a transformation, but he still shared a keen mind with the doctor.  Nobody else ever seemed to realize that, however - not even his fellow Avengers.  The resentment he felt because of the oversight was just another reason why he always wanted to smash _everything._   However, the way that she had captured the look in the illustrated Hulk’s eyes proved that somehow the little female had indeed noticed that he was more than just brawn.  He looked back down at her and spoke the best words of gratitude and appreciation that he could summon up while in this body.  “Good picture!” he said sincerely and nodded his big head for emphasis.

The woman beamed up at him in happiness.  “Oh, I am so glad that you like it!” she cried.  “Would you like a copy to keep for yourself?”  The Hulk looked confused since there was only one picture there…and they were in the middle of the woods with none of those copy machines or computer scanners that Banner often used while working. 

The woman saw his look of confusion and giggled a little as she reached up to pat his cheek affectionately.   “Watch!” she admonished as she removed a long thin stick from the loose bun of hair that was piled on the back of her head.  The Hulk then observed, completely mesmerized by the sight, as the waves of blonde hair gently tumbled down to the woman’s shoulders. He found that he wanted to touch it to see if it was as soft as it looked, but his attention was soon diverted from the surprisingly pleasant thought by the movements she made when she waved her stick over the paper.  However, it was not until she whispered, “ _Geminio,”_ and suddenly there were two identical copies of the picture laying on the grass in front of them, that the Hulk finally understood what had happened.

“Magic!” he growled and alarm bells when off in his head as he remembered Loki.  In one fluid motion, he jumped to his feet and towered over the woman.  “Magic…bad!” he exclaimed…and even though the memory of his past experiences and the instincts of his current body tried to tell him to smash her immediately, he paused.  He put that big brain of his to work instead as he thought about their interactions so far, and he quickly came to the conclusion that the little woman was no threat to him.  In fact, she even seemed to _like_ him.  His decision to put down his fists and step back was justified when she stood up herself and moved even closer to him.  

“No!” she replied and shook her head earnestly as she looked up at him with her wide and expressive blue eyes.  She shook her head as she placed her hand on his large forearm.  “Not all magic is bad…or dark.  See?” she asked beseechingly as she tapped her stick…her wand…on one of the pictures again.  This time, however, the pencil drawing became infused with brilliant color.  With another tap, the illustrated Hulk began to move realistically across the page – until it stopped to do a little dance – one that looked suspiciously like the Macarena.  She giggled at the sight and even the Hulk gave a little sniggering laugh.  At the lighthearted action, the big green man dropped his guard and he was alarmed when he immediately felt the residual anger start to drain from him.  He knew that meant his transformation back into the doctor was near and he looked at the little woman…whom he now knew to be a witch…a _good_ witch…with regret.

“It’s alright,” she replied softly. “I know that you are more than you seem…just like me…and I know that we will see each other again.”  With those reassuringly words, she reached for one of his big hands with both of her small ones. “My name is Luna, by the way,” she added. 

“Hulk like Luna” he said as he lifted his free hand and used one large finger to gently push her wayward hair out of her eyes this time himself and found that it was indeed as soft as he suspected.  “Puny Banner will like Luna, too” he added and nodded with absolute conviction at the thought.

“Oh, Hulk, I like you, too!” she exclaimed warmly, “I’m sure that I will like your other side, as well.  I look forward to meeting him.” She stretched up her arms to him, and when the big green man instinctively leaned down towards her, she wrapped them around him as far as they would fit and gave him a warm kiss on his cheek. “The Wrackspurts are gathering around you, so I know that means we have to say goodbye for now,” she whispered as she pulled away reluctantly. 

He nodded, even though he felt a bit bewildered… _Wrackspurts?_  He could not pursue the question, however, because after her affectionate farewell, his driving anger was completely spent and there was nothing to hold him…or his body…in that place any longer.  He found that he could not even say anything else as he staggered a few steps away before he fell…and that was all he knew for some time.

~~~~~

When Bruce regained consciousness, he found that he was lying on a soft blanket under a tree with his clothes fully intact…and Iron Man stood over him. 

“Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty,” a semi-mechanical voice said as the faceplate opened to reveal Tony.  “I’ve been looking everywhere for you since the Hulk took off hours ago with his panties in a wad!”

 “W…what happened?” Bruce muttered, still a bit disoriented.

“You tell me!” Tony replied and shrugged the shoulders of his Iron Man suit.  The motion triggered a response and the suit proceeded to fold up on itself and away from his body - leaving Tony standing there in his original clothes.  “I just found you like this…stretched out like a sultan waiting for his harem girl…and these were next to you.”  He handed Bruce two sheets of paper with an unusual style and thickness.  One had a very lifelike drawing of the Hulk on it.  The other had a more cartoon-like picture of a pretty and cheerful blonde witch – complete with hat and broomstick.  That one also included a little message written at the bottom in a very distinctive flowing feminine script:

 _Remember, we are both more than we seem…and that is a very good thing!_  
_You will be in my thoughts until we meet again._  
_Love,_  
_Luna_

"Luna,” Bruce whispered as the name spoke to something inside of him.  His eyes closed automatically as the memories of the meeting between the Hulk and the delicate blonde witch then played across the back of his eyelids like a movie.  He realized, with quite a bit of amazement, that not only had she charmed the Hulk so much that it actually triggered his transformation back into a man, but that she was also sad to see him go.

“Well?” his companion asked, barely containing his curiosity, when Bruce opened his eyes again.

The doctor reached up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.  “Apparently, while I was _out,_ the Hulk met a girl…a woman…a pretty one…with some unusual _talents,”_ he answered haltingly.  He was not sure how to explain the quirky little witch who was able to see past the surface of the Hulk so easily…and who actually seemed to _understand_ …and even more incredible than that… _like…_ what she saw there!   

Tony just grinned widely.  “ _That_ is what I’m talking about!” he exclaimed and joyfully rubbed his hands together in anticipation.  “I want details!”

“Not like that!” Bruce’s face reddened immediately at his friend’s crass implication.  He knew that Tony’s mind had set up a permanent residence in the gutter, but he did not want him to think about Luna in such a way.  Even though _he_ had technically never met her, Bruce already knew from the Hulk’s memories that she was too special for that. “She was…well…” he paused to try to think of the best way to describe her.  All of a sudden it came to him… “She was simply _magical!_ ”

~~~~~

Even though he would have rather kept Luna’s existence to himself, Bruce knew better than to do so.  Who knew what the SHIELD Director would do if he learned that Bruce purposely withheld such potentially important information?  Whatever it was, it would not be good!  Therefore, during his debriefing, Bruce told the entire truth about the unusual meeting in the forest.  Consequently, he was a bit shocked by the complete lack of surprise shown by Fury.   In fact, the man just rolled his one good eye at the mention of the witch. 

“Them again!” he muttered darkly before he turned his full attention back to Banner.  “Does Stark know?” was all that he asked.  At Bruce’s nod, the Director just sighed heavily.  “No use trying to keep it a secret from the others then, but it goes no farther than the Avengers.  Understand?  The team was on a Need to Know basis, anyways, so consider yourself informed.”  Despite his confusion, Bruce nodded quickly in agreement.  Fury saw his look, though, and took uncharacteristic pity on him when he explained further. 

“Believe it or not, the Magicals are our allies and they have discreetly helped us out in the past.  Didn’t you ever wondered how the damn Chitauri were kept contained within the city limits while you fought them…and who knows what kind of trouble the Hulk might have caused out there on his own if your witch friend had not intercepted him?  At any rate, the Magicals like to keep to themselves…and they get a bit…jumpy…and reactive…when others find out about them.  Even SHIELD is not _officially_ aware of their existence, if you know what I mean, just a few of us have that privilege.  Therefore, if you like your memories intact and unmodified, make sure that you and your friends keep this information to yourselves – _especially_ if you meet up with this _Luna_ again.”  With that bit of sound advice, he sent Bruce on his way with instructions to “send that pain-in-the-ass Stark to me.”  There was no doubt that Fury’s intention was to impart the same warning to Tony.  

 

 


	2. The Reunion

Several weeks passed with no further mention of the Magicals.  Despite that, Bruce found that his attention often wandered to a certain blonde witch – especially when he looked at her drawings.  He had laminated and framed them for their protection and he kept them on the workstation where he spent the majority of his time.  Every time his eyes would alight upon the one of the Hulk, he remembered the Other Guy’s feeling of wonder about the artistic little witch who had created it.  However, when he looked at her fun little self-portrait, which she had apparently drawn between the time that the Hulk had left but before Bruce woke up, he could feel an almost overwhelming sense of longing from the Hulk to see her again...and he knew he also wanted to meet the delightfully quirky woman for himself. 

~~~~~

Bruce was not unhappy, per se.  His isolated life on the run was over.  He had his own little apartment in the Tower, a fascinating job, and some really good friends who knew his deepest and darkest secret – but who seemed to like him anyway.  However, he still felt lonely.  There had been no woman in his life for years - not since Betty had walked away after being unable to cope with the entire Hulk situation.  He understood that and he did not blame her – not one bit.  He would have done the same thing, if he could have.  He did miss the closeness of being in a relationship, though.  He missed having someone special in his life with whom he could laugh…someone he could fall asleep next to and wake up with…someone with whom he could drop his guard and be himself and not worry about the consequences…someone who made his heart beat a little faster when she entered a room.  In short, he missed being in love.  Ever since his accident, he had assumed he would never get to have that chance again.  After all, his other side was just too volatile to allow anyone to get close to him. 

However, he could not stop thinking about how Luna, that little wisp of a witch, had charmed the Hulk and had liked him enough to give him a goodbye kiss.  Bruce wondered what she would think of  _him,_ though: the ordinary man and scientist.  Would she like him as much as she did the Hulk?  Or would she be disappointed in his lack of muscles and green pigmentation?  After all, she had said it was her favorite color. Would that even matter to her?  He wished he could find out.  After all, she had said that she would see him again, but it had already been weeks since that meeting in the forest.

Bruce just sighed and reached out to touch her picture.  “Luna,” he said a bit wistfully.  All of a sudden, he heard a loud  _crack_  behind him.  When he spun around in his chair to see what it was, he was shocked to find that same delicate blonde witch, about whom he had just been thinking.  She looked a bit disheveled,  but so very pretty as she stood there with a delighted smile on her face.    

“Oh, you're the Other Guy!” she said so enthusiastically that Bruce did not even realize the irony of her greeting until much later.  “I wondered when you were going to get around to using that reverse portkey.  It’s been weeks, you know!  I was starting to worry that you didn’t like me.”

“L…Luna?” Bruce stammered in wonder and confusion at her presence.  He had no idea how the witch had ended up in his lab, but he was very happy that she was there.  “Reverse portkey?”

“Oh, yes!  Didn’t I explain in my note that I put a spell on the picture so that the first time you touched it and said my name, I would be pulled to your location?”  At Bruce’s bewildered head shake, she continued.  “Oh dear!  I must have forgotten!  I probably caught one of the Wrackspurts that fled from the Hulk after he transformed back into you.  Those little buggers take great delight in causing confusion, you know.  Plus, I was a bit distracted by the sight of what I originally thought was miniature Finnish Firebrand dragon.  However, it just turned out to be Iron Man, instead.  I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by that.  I knew he was there for you, though, so I just disillusioned myself before he saw me.  I also knew that you would be safe with him, so I waited until he landed before I apparated away.”

Despite the strangeness of that entire statement, Bruce was struck with two thoughts immediately.  One warmed his heart when he realized that she had cared enough to stay with him in that vulnerable state between transformations in order to keep him safe until his friend had arrived.  The other thought was one of amusement when he considered how Tony’s ego would react to that knowledge that at least one woman thought that being face-to-face with a dragon would be preferable to meeting him and his alter ego.

He was distracted from his musings, however, when the blonde woman…witch…walked closer to the window and made a soft sound of delight when she saw the view.  “Oh, are we in New York?  I will definitely have to go see Newt and Tina then before I head back to England.  They are Rolf’s grandparents, you know…and Newt is the world’s leading expert on magical creatures.  I simply adore him.  I bet he would love to meet the Hulk, too.  Oooh, maybe you could come with me! We would not be breaking any rules.  After I met the Hulk, who is practically a magical being himself, I checked with my friend, Hermione…she’s the Deputy Minister of Magic…and she confirmed that the Avengers were indeed on the  _Approved_  list.  Therefore, that silly Statute of Secrecy wouldn’t be compromised if you met more of us.”

The woman’s breathless train of thought seemed to pause at the station then and she gazed up at Bruce with appreciation with those wide blue eyes that were so clear in the Hulk’s memories.   “At any rate, it is nice to finally meet this side of  _you._   I liked the Hulk very much, but I am glad to see that  _you_  are just my size…and quite fit and handsome, too.  It’s a pity about the lack of green...but nobody’s perfect!” 

Bruce could not tell if she was joking or not, but either way he felt just a bit self-conscious by her direct gaze and admiring tone – not that he  _really_  minded – not at all!  He just had not expected it – especially since he had never really been one to catch anyone’s eye before.  He was too…ordinary…looking for that to happen. He did not have Tony’s charm and dashing good looks or Steve’s wholesome manner and extremely muscular physique.  Hell, even Clint – and that mischievous sparkle in his eye - always got offers and numbers whenever they went out for drinks. That never seemed to happen to Bruce, though.  In fact, he had known Betty for a  _long_ time before he finally found the nerve to ask her on a date…and look how  _that_  relationship had turned out.  

Almost as if she could read his mind, Luna walked close to him and placed her hand on his forearm – just as she had done with the Hulk that day in the woods.  “None of that!” she commanded in a gentle voice. “It took me a long time to find my place, too, you know.  However, we are both more than we seem, remember?”  Then she smiled at him sweetly and his heart did a little flip as he remembered that  _she_  had not run away from the Hulk.  Nor did it seem as if she planned to leave anytime soon when she added, “I believe that we are both exactly who we need to be now…and where we need to be, as well.  Now, why don’t you take me somewhere so that we can get to know each other better.”   

Bruce’s answering grin was so bright that it could have lit up his lab on its own power as he finally gained control of his mouth and remembered that he was actually a man of some intelligence when spoke his first full sentence since her arrival.  “Would you like to go out for some coffee…or tea…?” He glanced at his watch and realized that it was later than he thought.  “Or even dinner?”

“Dinner sounds nice,” she replied with another sweet smile.  “Just let me send a message to Rolf so he will not worry.  You did whisk me away rather unexpectedly, after all.”  She indicated her slightly mussed appearance and Bruce watched with an almost scientific curiosity as the witch drew her wand out of her hair again.  After he pulled his gaze away from the tempting sight of all that soft blonde hair that the Hulk had also admired, he vaguely heard her say the words,  _Expecto Patronum._  He did not know what he had expected, but it definitely was not a misty white rabbit who hopped up and looked at its mistress with intelligent eyes while she gave it a verbal message to pass on to that Rolf guy.

"Rolfy, dear, don't fret about me when I don't show up for tea.  I didn't get trampled by a rampaging hippogriff or anything, I was just called away a bit unexpectedly by a friend. Surprisingly enough, I am in New York, so I will definitely visit your Papa and Nana before I leave.  I don't know exactly when I will get home, so please don't forget to leave some milk out for those adorable little Bidlynuks in the back garden.  Watch your fingers, though.  The striped one bites."  Her message apparently finished, Luna then gave a little swish with her wand and the rabbit nodded before it hopped quickly away until it simply faded through the walls on the far side of the lab.

Bruce took his eyes off of the direction where the misty rabbit had disappeared and looked back at Luna.  Even though his scientific mind was bursting with questions about the unlikely things that he had just seen and heard, his heart seemed to want to settle on the most personal question first. “Rolf?” he asked.  For some reason, he found that he just had to know who the man was to her - especially since she had mentioned him a few times already and that message had seemed quite affectionate.  The surge of jealousy that he felt was a bit of a surprise, though.  After all, he did not really know the pretty blonde witch very well yet, so he had no reason or right to feel that way.  However, the territorial feeling came from so deep down inside that he suspected it was one that he also shared with the Hulk. 

Luna must have caught something in his tone since she smiled sweetly and touched his hand again.  “There is no reason to feel like that,” she replied in that lovely light dreamy voice of hers.  “Rolf is my best friend and housemate.  He is also a magical creature expert, just like his grandfather, and we have written several books on both magi and crypto-magi zoology together.  He also helps me out at  _The_   _Quibbler,_ since Father is now retired and spends most of his time on expeditions to search for the Crumped-Horned Snorkack.”  Here Luna paused and her voice turn conspiratorial.  “Between you and me, I don’t think that the CHS really exists, but it does give Father such pleasure to look for it - and it keeps him active - so there is no harm done.”  She paused again as a look of amusement crossed her face.  “Plus, he doesn’t like girls,” she added.

Bruce was a bit taken aback by that last statement.  “Your father doesn’t like girls?”

Luna laughed, a pleasant tinkling sound.  “No, Silly!   _Rolf_  doesn’t like girls - not like that, anyway.  In fact, he’s gayer than Dumbledore...and that man wore sparkly purple robes.”  She smiled again and paused to twirl a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully.  “Even though I adore him, his complete lack of desire to have sex with me is a bit of a deal breaker when it comes to any sort of a romantic relationship.”

The relief that Bruce felt at her explanation was almost palpable.  However, he could not believe that it was even possible that someone could be around such a beautiful and fascinating woman all of time and not want to have sex with her as much as possible.  In fact, just the thought of it was causing an almost involuntary response in his trousers that was quite difficult to suppress.  He was almost positive that he had not said any of that aloud, but Luna laughed lightly anyway.

 “Oh…thank you!  That is very flattering…and good to know,” she replied with a wink.  Then she completely ignored the look of mortification that raced across his face as she asked him a question.  “By the way, is Banner your first name or your surname?  The Hulk didn’t explain.  Besides the fact that he is a man of few words, I think that Wrackspurts had overwhelmed him by that point - so his omission was completely understandable.”

 “It’s Bruce…Bruce Banner…Doctor Bruce Banner, actually,” he tried to explain while he cursed his apparent failure to function in any normal intelligent sort of way around this woman - much less to impress her with any of his genius.  Just her presence alone seemed to have the effect of turning him into a feeble-minded fool.

She did not act like she minded, however, as she took his hand.  “Well, then, Doctor Bruce Banner…I am Luna…Luna Lovegood…and I believe that you offered me some dinner?”

 “That I did,” he replied as he slowly regained control of himself and his confidence.  “Are you ready to go?”  At her enthusiastic nod, Bruce asked JARVIS to secure the lab and let Tony know that he was going out for the evening.  Luna listened to the exchange between the doctor and the disembodied voice intently.

“Oooh, was that some kind of spirit?” she asked excitedly and her eyes gleamed with interest as he proceeded to lead the way to the door.  “I didn’t think ghosts liked modern buildings.”

The fact that her casual mention of ghosts did not even faze him proved that he was already getting used to his quirky visitor’s lifestyle that was so vastly different from his own.   As he opened the door for her, he explained that JARVIS was a sophisticated computer program…more or less.  He was pleased when she showed a keen interest in learning more and he made a deal with her. 

“I will tell you all about it, if you explain just one thing to me…,” he paused and smiled in his attempt to relieve his rampant curiosity.  “What in the hell is a Wrackspurt?”  Her delightful laugh echoed in the empty room behind them.

~~~~~

Luna suggested a both Muggle and Magic-friendly restaurant that she had visited several times before with the Scamanders.  It was run by a Wizard and his nonmagical wife who was a professional chef - so it catered easily to both sides.  Since Bruce was infinitely more interested in her company than either the food or the location, he agreed easily and was pleasantly surprised by the place – despite the extremely disorienting journey to get there.  Luna had insisted on a form of transportation called “apparating,” but what Bruce thought should have been called “The-Being-Squeezed-Through-A-Tube-Until-You-Feel-Like-You-Are-Dying-Transport.”  At least that is what it felt like.  However, the scientist in him was fascinated by the process, regardless of the extreme nausea it apparently induced in the uninitiated. 

Therefore, while he recovered from the experience, he watched and listened intently as Luna first cast a  _Muffliato_  over them for privacy (since they were seated in the nonmagical section of the restaurant), and then discussed apparation and the other types of magical transportation, such as the reverse portkey by which she had arrived.  He then asked her about her work.  She explained all about her passion for crypto-magizoology.  Apparently, it was the study of mysterious and/or legendary magical creatures, and was an interest that had been passed down to her by her father. 

Afterwards, when Bruce realized that he finally felt comfortable enough in her presence to be in full control of his faculties, he repaid the favor and told her quite a bit about the scientific world and his love of physics and biology.  Even though it was clear that neither of them understood everything that the other one discussed, it did not matter.  They still found each other fascinating - and that was what really counted in the end.

~~~~~

When Bruce woke up the next morning, the soft blonde hair spread out all over his chest and the lovely naked witch in his arms prompted a huge grin to spring to his face.   It stayed there as the pleasant memories of the night before swirled through his head...and he already knew that the wonderful encounter was not going to be just a random one-night stand between two strangers.  In truth, the doctor realized that both he and Hulk had already made much more than just a physical connection with the beautiful woman in his bed, so it was nearly impossible to think of her as someone whom he had really just met.  That was especially true since Luna had been the one to initiate the exciting series of events that led to them being wrapped up together in such an intimate embrace. 

After dinner was over, she had playfully asked him if he wanted to find out if she lived up to her surname.  He had blushed a little at the unexpected offer, but since her arms were already around him in preparation to side-apparate, she was close enough to feel his immediate physical response to her question...and to see the desire in his eyes as they suddenly shifted from brown to green.  Therefore, she did not even require an answer.  She just kissed him, apparated back with him to his private quarters...and the rest was glorious history.

In fact, when Luna opened her eyes and favored him with her warm smile that held not even a trace of regret or embarrassment about their situation, he knew that his life had just been irrevocably changed for the better.  Upon that realization, his brown eyes flashed green with emotion…and it became clear that - once again - he and the Hulk were on the same wavelength at the same time.  There was no doubt that they both knew that this bewitching woman was the one for them. 

"No Wrackspurts this morning?" Luna asked him gently as she reached up to stroke his cheek with a knowing look on her face.  She recognized that flash of color meant the Hulk was near, just as he had been during the satisfying activities of the previous night, as well - and even though she had somehow known what would happen from the moment she met the Hulk in the forest - she wanted to make sure that they were all in agreement before they went any further.

"Not a single one!" Bruce replied firmly and left her in no doubt of his...their...answer as he bent down to kiss her enthusiastically.  At that moment, a relationship that was definitely more than it seemed was born as the two bodies, but  _three_  lives, became pleasantly intertwined once again.


End file.
